Upstairs

Upstairs is a short horror tale from Japan about a young boy who comes home and hears his mother’s voice calling him from a bedroom on the second floor of the house.

Upstairs

When I was a child, I lived in a rented two-floor house. My father and mother both had to work, so I was often alone in the house when I got back from school.

One day, I was delayed on my way back from school. It was early evening when I got home and the house was dark.

I called out, “Mom?” and heard a faint voice say “Yeeeeeessssss?” from upstairs.

I called my mum again, and again got the same “Yeeeeeessssss?” reply.

It sounded like she was calling me, so I started climbing up the stairs.

When I reached the first floor I called her once more and heard the “Yeeeeeessssss?” coming from the back bedroom.

I felt a certain uneasiness and wanted to see my mother as soon as possible, so I hurried closer to the back room. I was about to open the bedroom door when suddenly, I heard sound of the front door downstairs opening. My mother came in, carrying lots of shopping bags.

“Sweetie, I’m back! Are you home?”, she called out to me in a bright voice.

Hearing her voice, I completely regained my confidence and ran downstairs. Just then, I happened to glance over my shoulder, towards the back bedroom.

The door to the room slowly opened with a creak.

For a moment, I saw something strange in gap of the door.

The pale face of a man was staring directly at me.